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Work item:
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D.OTTBypass
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Subject/title:
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OTT Bypass
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Status:
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[Carried to next study period]
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Approval process:
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TAP
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Type of work item:
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Recommendation
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Version:
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-
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Equivalent number:
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-
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Timing:
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-
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Liaison:
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-
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Supporting members:
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Algérie Télécom SPA , Burundi , Côte d'Ivoire , Dem. Rep. of the Congo , Malawi , Senegal , Sudan , Tunisie Télécom , Zimbabwe
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Summary:
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OTT bypass is currently a growing source of losses for international inbound voice revenues, as telecom operators are left out of the value chain by their unaware subscribers.
In fact, OTT bypass is a fusion of the legal 'Over-The-Top' model with the illegal international bypass model, for which, a call originating as a traditionally dialed voice call via the operator's PSTN (or cellular network), is taken on a detour and terminated to the OTT application on the called party's Smartphone, depriving consequently the receiving telecom operator from the termination fees related to this call. The calling subscriber, who initiated a normal voice call with a called number within the terminating network, is unaware of the way his call is terminated; the called subscriber receives a VoIP call.
The fraud scheme consists then in a kind of hijacking the call from the terminating mobile network, then terminating it through Viber, when possible, or through grey routes, which will lead to termination revenue losses for the receiving carriers.
Indeed, fraudsters are exploiting OTT as a new mean to perform bypass in addition to the currently used bypass schemes based on SIM boxes.
The threat of OTT bypass is getting greater with the entrance of some OTT players to the wholesale market as international call terminators, such as Viber, who initiated, in 2013, a soft-launch of an international call termination service, which is till now available on an "optional basis". With this service, non-Viber calls are routed through Viber in countries where this application is widely used. Carriers, who have an agreement with Viber, route their outgoing calls to Viber, which will check if the called party is an online Viber user, then will decide whether the call should be terminated on Viber or on the destination mobile network.
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Comment:
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-
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Reference(s):
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Historic references:
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Contact(s):
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| ITU-T A.5 justification(s): |
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First registration in the WP:
2016-03-09 16:21:16
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Last update:
2016-03-10 16:19:57
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